


Bei Mir Bist Du Schön

by DefineNormal



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/M, Feels, Post-Episode: s02e10 Hollywood Ending, Romantic Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 06:02:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6183499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DefineNormal/pseuds/DefineNormal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So kiss me and say you understand. Post Hollywood Ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bei Mir Bist Du Schön

Bei Mir Bist Du Schön

 

_I've tried to explain, 'bei mir bist du schön'_

_So kiss me and say you understand_

His mind is a tumble of thoughts. It is a chaos not unlike enemy fire - the anxious closing of his throat, the thud of his heart against his breastbone. However the flight instinct is absent and he holds tight to the opposing force, relentlessly pressing herself into his arms.

His brain re-engages when her teeth slide over his bottom lip, a fierce nibble, before releasing him. His eyes focus and she is there, grinning madly. She draws her nails through the hair at the nape of his neck and the hand at his waist presses encouragingly. She is hardly mussed and he feels as though he’s run a marathon.

“You were saying?” Her voice is smoky and decidedly less refined and her nails continue to raise gooseflesh. They are balanced precariously in his chair and he grips her tightly, using her warmth to anchor his whirling heart. He knows she feels it too, the adrenaline and desire, because her chest rises and falls quickly.

“I was?” It isn’t fair, the way she keeps him unbalanced. The moment he feels he’s managed to get a grip on her she upends his confidence and leaves him dazzled and gaping. He sorts through his jumbled thoughts, searching for something more concrete to say, to remember how they managed to get to this point. Her entire body is pressed into his and he can’t think clearly now that he’s mapped at least a few of her curves with his wandering hands. When his mouth opens, he instantly regrets the words that slip out. “What about Dr Wilkes?”

His throat closes when her eyes narrow. Then her eyelids flutter shut and she presses her forehead to his before dropping a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth.

A deep breath, then two, and she tugs his lapels as she stands up, brushing her thumbs against the sides of his throat affectionately. The afternoon sun filters around her and gives her a burnished glow. He is relieved to see a small smile on her face, and he wonders if she’ll bother to wait until they're out of the building to punch him.

“We should go to lunch.”

He stares dumbly up at her then glances at his watch. It is well past noon, but leaving with Peggy is the thing he wants most in the world at the moment. And he’s roughly 87% sure there won’t be food involved, even if it does end with her deadly right hook to his eye. The space between them has been filling up with delayed conversations and thwarted confessions. It is time to hash out a few things, now that the pressure has been released somewhat.

“Of course. Lunch is good.” They take a few moments to right themselves and he can’t suppress a grin as she helps to straighten out his shirt. She blushes slightly as she slips a few of his buttons closed. He doesn’t remember her opening them.

The bullpen is mostly quiet when they emerge and the heavy silence makes his ears burn. Peggy appears singularly unruffled as she adjusts her long stride to his and lasers her dark eyes around the room. Despite what they have probably seen, the rowdy group doesn’t dare to make a sound.

* * *

A short drive finds them back at Echo Park. It began there, in some ways, so it seems fitting to return. Peggy slides her hand into his as they walk, heading across the bridge. She is content with silence and so Daniel obliges her. Near to the shore he pulls Peg to a stop and awkwardly drops to a knee on the grass and abandons his crutch. Peggy watches him as he settles back against a palm tree and tugs her to sit beside him.

Ever one to follow her own path, she presses the toe of her shoe against his uninjured leg urging his legs wide enough to stand between. She sits carefully resting her back against his chest, encased in his embrace.

“So-” He begins, but she cuts him off gently.

“Jason is going to be working with Howard. It’s a good opportunity for him and I’m happy.” The fingers of her left hand curl against his knee and she taps absently.

“And?” He asks when her silence becomes uncomfortable.

“And that’s all.” He can feel her take a deep breath against him and she rests her head back against his shoulder.  “No, that’s not all. I’m afraid you think I’m here with you as a sort of default. That you were somehow my second choice. Jason--Dr Wilkes is probably still willing to expand our friendship. I...well, that’s all I could offer him. Friendship.”

 _Heartbreaker_ , he thinks but doesn’t say. It isn’t exactly fair. While Peggy may enchant most men she meets, she is not a tease. And her tender heart is the most fragile of all. Still, he cannot help but wonder at her choice. Dr Wilkes is, after all, smart and kind and quite interested in her. Daniel never believed himself to be lacking in self-confidence but something in Peggy strips him of his usual defenses. She scaled the walls he built in the aftermath of the war as effortlessly as she infiltrated Roxxon. He can’t help but recall Krzeminski on that ill-fated night. Would she really want to trade in a red white and blue shield for an aluminum crutch?

“Daniel, what do you know about Steve?” She asks at long last, and he’s so busy formulating his speech that at first he is confused.

“Rogers?” Of course she’d bring him up; it’s as though she can read his mind. She nods against him and he’s thankful for their positions. He’s not sure he could stand to see the sorrow in her eyes. “I mean, I only know what I’ve read and seen in the newsreels.”

“No, no...not.” Her voice hitches. Her hands catch both of his and she threads their fingers, grounding herself with his nearness.. “Not the star spangled whatever. I mean Steve.” She recalls him curling his slight frame around a grenade, screaming at the others to get back. Sweet, self-sacrificing Steve.

“I know you loved him.” Daniel says and she laughs humorlessly.

“Listened to the radio show, did you?”

“Nah. But you kept his picture.” He remembers the look on her face when he caught her in the file room. Devastation and loss had made her appear unapproachable to him, though he longed to carry some of the hurt for her. “The skinny little guy - that’s the guy you’re asking about, huh? I didn’t know much of him. But I know if you loved him, he must have been a swell guy.”

“A swell guy.” She echoes and draws their twined hands around her middle as she shivers slightly. “You remind me of him, a little.”

“Skinny little weakling?” He manages to sound insulted rather than surprised.

She uses their twined hands to give a good-natured jab to his leg. “No. A good man who wants to make a difference. Who is kind and moral and gentle and strong. But you’re not first runner up to Steve, either.”

“Yeah, but let’s be real Peg. If he was still here…”

“If he was still here a good many things would be different. We don’t know for sure what would have been - or not.”

She disengages herself from him and turns awkwardly, pushing her sunglasses onto the top of her head. Her palms are warm on his face and she stares hard at him, silently willing him to understand. She is not here because her other options fell through. She is not here because she didn’t get a better offer. There is no pity in her gaze. Only affection and, as her eyes dart to his lips and her tongue sweeps the last of the lipstick from her own, desire.

“You’re a swell guy, Daniel Sousa.”

He kisses her palm and draws her into another kiss.  Today was not the day for doubts. “Love you too, Peggy Carter.”

**Author's Note:**

> First Agent Carter fic. Goddamn, peggysous. HOW DARE YOU. 
> 
> Here are the things I still need to see. Please write them for me because I am lazy and writing is hard. You are so pretty. Thank you.
> 
> * where is the picture Daniel took of Peggy?  
> * how many margaritas can Peggy drink before she curls up like a kitten in Sousa's lap?  
> * how many dates before Sousa gets to see that really fancy garter Ana sewed for Peggy?  
> * Santa Monica pier - GO.  
> * double date with Howard and whoever.  
> * Peggy runs into Violet. JFC, what happens?  
> * Jarvis finds Daniel in Peggy's room. Scandalized or pleased?  
> * Drive in movies and Howard's car. IS THAT A MIRROR?
> 
> Snap to, people. I'm about to go on vacation and will have much time to read. :D


End file.
